Herscher and Peotone played a pair of one-goal games last season, with Herscher winning in the regular season and the Blue Devils coming out on top in a Class 1A Coal City Sectional semifinal.

After a scoreless first half between the Illinois Central Eight Conference rivals, the visiting Tigers (14-2, 5-0) rallied for four goals in the final 40 minutes to take down Peotone (7-3, 3-1) 4-1 and avenge last year’s season-ending loss.

Herscher senior Gianni Jaime, who scored two of the Tigers’ four goals, said it felt nice to find a bit more success against the Blue Devils this time, especially with many of the same players back on the field.

“I think it was definitely important today to prove that we did grow as a team from last year,” she said. “I just think that we’re a lot more connected as a team this year. It was just important to get goals in the beginning [of the second half] and continue to put goals in the back of the net.”

Jaime reached a major career milestone on Saturday, surpassing 100 career goals in the Tigers’ 7-0 win over Coal City.

She also became the program’s all-time leader in assists in a March 30 win over Bishop McNamara, and as she heads into the final stretch of her senior season, Jaime said she is just looking forward to what else she and her teammates can accomplish.

“I think it’s definitely a proud accomplishment, and I’ve worked really hard over the years to get to this point,” she said. “I’m just excited to see what the postseason is going to look like for us, and what my records are going to look like.”

After the scoreless first half Thursday, Allie Werner nearly put Peotone ahead in the opening minute of the second only to have her shot saved by Herscher goalkeeper Addie Wilkins.

The Tigers quickly flipped the field, and Danica Woods sent one into the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Woods has moved up to midfield as a senior this season after playing goalkeeper for most of her soccer life. She allowed just 12 goals last season and was named first-team Daily Journal All-Area.

She’s fit in nicely as a newcomer to the offensive side of the ball while the junior Wilkins has also excelled as the new full-time keeper after seeing a little time in net last season, helping anchor a defense that has allowed just 14 goals in 16 games.

“I think Addie is doing a very, very good job,” Woods said. “And being in the field is nice. It’s definitely a change, and I’ve always played goalie since I was a kid.

“I think getting that first goal was definitely proving a point for our team, that we know we can beat [Peotone] and make it far in the season.”

Jaime scored her first goal a minute and a half after Woods’ go-ahead score, and added another with 14:35 to play.

Werner broke through to put Peotone on the board with 6:14 to play before Herscher’s Sophie Venckauskas iced the game with 3:39 left.

After 15 games on turf, Herscher head coach Christopher Longtin said he felt it took his team a bit to adjust to the surface at Peotone. Once they did, he was happy with the execution.

“It’s kind of unbelievable, but we were like ‘oh yeah, I guess we haven’t played on a grass field yet this year,’” he said. “It took us about a half to get used to that and the wind, and then we started pulling it together and stringing some passes, and we had a nice defensive effort back there.”

Peotone brings back a lot of talent this season after back-to-back Sweet 16 trips, with players like Werner, Peyton Bisping and the team’s two-time defensive MVP Callie Weiss returning with lots of big-game experience.

The Blue Devils started last season 1-5 before finishing on 12-2-1 run, and head coach Ryan Murray said he expects the team to finish strong once again, albeit after a much stronger start to this season.

“That’s how this team has always flowed,” he said. “The beginning of the season is always the rough part. Now we’re in the middle part, and I really wish we could replay this game. I think there would be a different outcome.

“I’m excited to play [Herscher] again. We play them in the postseason pretty frequently.”